weaning off 80mg daily Omreprazole

[Murphea]

Has anyone been prescribed 80mg (40mg twice daily) for GERD? I’ve found it hasn’t shown any clash with my Levothyroxine (I take that at 2am) which I’m relieved about. I’ve been taking omreprazole now for 6 weeks (not sure if it’s completely done its job, but I need to reduce the dose now). My pharmacist recommends going down to 20mg twice daily but I’m wondering if a week of 20mg three times a day might be a gentler approach. Anyone experienced this? Thanks for any help x

[Imaaan]

1st week : 30 mg ppi morning plus h2 blocker pepcid ac and 30mg ppi plus 30mg h2 blocker night

2nd week: 20mg ppi plus 30mg h2 blocker (Pepcid ac) morning. 20mg ppi plus 30mg h2 blocker at night

3rdweek : 30mg h2 blocker in morning

30 mg h2 blocker at night

4th : 20mg h2 blocker morning and 20mg h2 blocker at night

5th week : 10 mg h2 blocker morning and 10 mg h2 blocker at night

6th week slippery elm gruel and dgl or UK gaviscon advanced

PPI doses available

[Imaaan in reply to Imaaan]

H2 blocker are weaker version of a ppi and a step down

Combine doses to get 30mg h2 blocker

[Murphea in reply to Imaaan]

thank you. This guidance is incredibly helpful. I’ll ask my pharmacist to prescribe 10mg so that I can step it down gradually, and get some Pepcid AC to use alongside. Best wishes

[Imaaan in reply to Murphea]

No prob. The timeline is a just a rough estimate. Since you're on a really high dose, you may need to stretch out the week and add more days if you experience really bad reflux. I had to do that on my own journey.

Also forgot to mention there is a liquid solution that coats the lining called carafate. Its prescription only and you might want to discuss it with your doc if you're struggling on the 3rd/4th /5th week. It doesn't reduce acid at all for extra help.

***You can always start with 40mg h2 blocker instead of 30mg if you're really struggling and then 30 and then 20 and then 10.

***Also diet plays a huge role so take a break from all the acid inducing yummy food***

Meds including thyroid have to be taken far away from Carafate and slippery elm because they reduce absorption.

All the best

[Murphea in reply to Imaaan]

great, thank you. A big concern in the back of my mind about all this is the chance of my having low acid levels in the first place (as a consequence of having Hashimotos) 🤷‍♀️ I’ll just have to see how it goes but have emailed my surgery re 10mg Omreprazole capsules, as well as Peptid AC. Big thanks for your help.

[Imaaan in reply to Murphea]

Low acid could be the culprit but so can be dysbiosis caused by sibo or h plyori or its something else entirely or a combination of things. You can look into them after weaning off.

You're wlcm . Hope everything works out.

[Batty1]

Why were you prescribed 80mg thats a high dose of omeprazole and depending on why you were prescribed such a high dose you could reduce it down to 40 mg per day and then do that for a week or two and reduce to 20mg for a couple of weeks … you get the gist! Reducing to much too fast could have disastrous results my hubby found that out the hard way few years back.

[Murphea in reply to Batty1]

thanks for responding. A gastroscopy showed gastritis and oesophagitis, and my endo recommended I follow the hospital’s advice to be healed. I was very hesitant but felt I had no choice. I want to put this episode behind me by weaning off it as gently and thoroughly as possible.

[Treesong2023]

That's a very very high dose. Listen to your Pharmacist I say. Low dose, short term only

Please read about Omeprazole on Health unlimited. I was high dose, long term on it. Disaster. It has caused me depressed kidney function issues, and i am pretty sure it caused stomach absorption issues I have now. Beware and take care.

[Murphea in reply to Treesong2023]

thanks for responding. I was very hesitant to start the course and saw an endocrinologist beforehand. He explained that taking any less would not be a ‘healing dose’ from the gastritis and oesophagitis I’d had diagnosed. I’m aware of the perils, hence my wish to wean off in the right way. I wondered about 20mg thrice a day for the first week, instead of 40mg twice…….

[Treesong2023 in reply to Murphea]

Hi, Murphea. Yes, I had the same diagnosis, and with a small area of stomach lining atrophy. I was given antibiotics for the cause of "gastritis" = h plyori. And then 20mg for two weeks at night. With the bottled gaviscon with extra alginate in the mornings. One month of a bland diet. Good luck. 🌻

[humanbean]

Wow, that's a really high dose of Omeprazole. I like the look of the protocol Imaaan has posted.

You might find this of interest :

howtotreatheartburn.com/how...

The one thing you shouldn't do is try to hurry coming off a PPI, for your own comfort.

.

I take PPIs, and have done for years. I need them because I suffer from chronic pain which is treated with an NSAID. Without a PPI the NSAIDs can erode the stomach lining. I know this from personal experience many years ago when I took Ibuprofen without a PPI and developed chronic gastritis and an ulcer.

I really wish I could stop taking both the NSAID and the PPI, but I think I'm doomed to take them for life now.

[humanbean in reply to humanbean]

One thing I have found helpful in understanding the causes of indigestion and heartburn was reading a series of articles by Chris Kresser, which was aimed at patients with SIBO but people can extrapolate to other patients with other gut problems (like low stomach acid in thyroid disease).

1) chriskresser.com/what-every...

Part way down the above link is an offer of a free e-book. It is worth downloading.

Alternatively you can read the entire set of six articles online. The link to the first article is given above.

2) chriskresser.com/the-hidden...

3) chriskresser.com/more-evide...

4) chriskresser.com/how-your-a...

5) chriskresser.com/how-your-a...

6) chriskresser.com/get-rid-of...

[Imaaan in reply to humanbean]

Fantastic links, thnxs.

[Murphea in reply to humanbean]

thank you. The reading links are really interesting and helpful. Best wishes